AN EARLY FINAL FOUR

Team USA is hoping to have two more of these celebrations


By Adam Bernard


Four teams left, but only three medals to go around. Lets face it though, there's only one type of medal that these teams have their eyes on and it's not the one that's the color of the Stanley Cup or the one of a penny. For USA, Finland, Canada, and Slovakia, they're on the precipice of a type of hockey greatness that only comes along once every four years. You can debate all day long whether the Stanley Cup or winning a gold medal for your country is better, but for the next three days, no one on these four teams is thinking about the annual trophy awarded in June. Here's a brief preview of the games:

USA-FINLAND - 3PM Eastern
-This is a match-up of two teams that play very similar styles of hockey. Both teams like to muck and grind it up on the ice, both teams like to forecheck aggressively and get the puck deep, and both teams have goalies that are capable of stealing the game. While the US was prone to mistakes and odd-man rushes early in the tournament, coach Ron Wilson has gotten the Red, White and Blue playing more responsible hockey in their own end. It also helps that Ryan Miller is seeing the puck as if it were a beach ball because he's stopping just about everything thrown his way. For Team Finland, other than a pathetic display against rival Sweden, they have looked strong through the tournament and they played the Czechs strong on Wednesday night. There may not be a better match-up of teams in the tournament.

PREDICTION - I predicted gold for the United States and I would absolutely love for that to happen. While they play similar styles of hockey, Finland plays it just a little bit better than the Americans. BUT, Ryan Miller has been the key for the United States and as long as he can continue to play the way he has, there's no reason to think Team USA will lose this game. Because both teams are physical and aggressive, the team that passes the puck more responsibly wins. Look for a one goal victory by the United States and for this game to be very similar to the Finland-Czech Republic & USA-Switzerland games where it was tight throughout the entire contest. If Finland can get an early jump on Ryan Miller and get two in the net, that changes my prediction because I don't see the US playing well from behind. USA wins 3-2 over the Finns.

CANADA-SLOVAKIA - 9:30PM EASTERN
-Picking Slovakia as my dark horse before these Olympics began was probably the smartest thing I've done in 2010. After a rough start against the Czechs, Slovakia has done everything their capable of and really impressed me in the victory over the defending gold medalists. The Slovakian team isn't very deep, but they are top heavy with guys like Rangers winger Marian Gaborik and Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa. They've gotten steady play on the blueline and goaltender Jaroslav Halak has continued to be consistently good between the pipes. Canada got exactly what the doctor ordered after a tough loss to Team USA. While Germany is a scrappy team, they were no match for Team Canada and the Canadians were able to get back on track against a team they could get back to basics with and get comfortable again. Then they went on to beat the other top team in the world in embarrassing fashion (btw, after the way Russia exited the 2010 Olympics, I'm already predicting gold for them on home soil in 2014 in Sochi because they are PISSED), Canada's got that swagger back in their games.

PREDICTION - As much as I would LOVE to see Slovakia continue their March Madness Cinderella-esque run, it ends today. Canada dodged what could have been a very embarrassing Olympics for them and now they're one game away from playing for gold in their backyard. Slovakia will play Canada tough, but I see Canada pulling away in the 2nd period and stacking the blueline in the 3rd period. 5-2 Canada wins (with an empty netter).


Also, a congratulations to Team Canada's woman's team for winning their third straight gold medal. They outplayed the United States and got excellent goaltending.

OH CANADA!!

Canada salutes their fans after a 7-3 drubbing of the Russian Federation.

(Bruce Bennett, Getty Images)

By Chris Carrano

CANADA TROUNCES RUSSIA, ADVANCES TO SEMIS

It was one of the most widely anticipated matchups of these Olympic Games so far. A contest that many (myself included) predicted would decide the gold medal, not determine who would advance to the semis. Canada squared off against their hockey nemesis Russia, in front of 19,100 of their own fans, on their own soil. Throw into the mix, another Sidney Crosby vs. Alexander Ovechkin battle, and you have a game for the ages. However, much like last years game seven showdown between the two NHL superstars, this game wasn’t all it was hyped up to be, unless, that is, you were one of the fans rocking the red at Canada Hockey Place last night.

The mighty Russians, who have owned the Canadians in international play, came in to the game with all the swagger and confidence one would expect from a team that has proficient scorers such as Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Ilya Kovalchuk. The only thing mighty about the Russians tonight, was their fall from grace. Ryan Getzlaf put the Canadians on the board just 2:21 into the game and Rick Nash and Dan Boyle scored 46 seconds apart to put Canada ahead 3-0 by the time the first period was a little more than half over.

"You wouldn't expect a start like that, but that's the way we wanted to come out, just flying," Nash said. "We finally started to bury our good chances. That was the difference."

Roberto Luongo, the Vancouver Canucks goalie who plays his home games at Canada Hockey Place (the name was changed from GM Place for the Olympics), made 25 saves and allowed 3 goals, after staring in place of Canada’s hero, Martin Brodeur. Meanwhile, Canada out shot the Russians 42-28 for the game and 21-12 in the first period. Russian goalie Evgeni Nabokov, who plays with the San Jose Sharks, cemented his role as a big game choke artist as he was pulled in favor of Ilya Brzygalov after allowing four goals in the first period.

"I think how we start the game it's like small kids and big kids play against each other and big kids dominate," Ovechkin said. "They got the puck deep, used their power and they scored goals."

As amazing as it is that Canada unleashed their fury with such ease on the world’s number one ranking team, neither Ovechkin nor Crosby made it to the box score in a game that featured ten goals. Even more demoralizing for Ovechkin, along with Malkin and teammate Alexander Semin, is that all three were on the ice when Rick Nash and Shea Weber scored goals. Canadian coach Mike Babcock tinkered with his lines and used Jonathan Toews to center Mike Richards and Rick Nash while adding Scott Niedermayer and Weber to round out his defensive pair. The quintet shut down the Russian superstars, who each finished with a –2 rating, making them look as inconsistent as the New York Rangers have at times.

"That's the stuff you dream about as a kid, playing in those big situations against the best players in the world," added Weber. "It's not an easy task by any means, but I thought we did a good job as a team."

Canada’s next game is on Friday night against Slovakia, a team that upset the defending champion Swedes.

US EDGES SWISS, BARELY

If Brian Burke wasn’t happy with the way his United States team performed in a 5-3 win over Canada, then he must have been seething after watching his team barely beat the Swiss. Team USA squeaked out a 2-0 win over Switzerland yesterday afternoon, thanks to Zach Parise and another big empty-net goal.

Jonas Hiller played so well, it’s a shame he had to lose. He stopped 42 shots and never wilted under the pressure of the US attack. Zach Parise was finally able to slip one past the near perfect Hiller. He managed to get the tip of his stick on a slap shot from defenseman Brian Rafalski and sent it scrambling over the Hiller’s glove before nestling just inside the goal at 2:08 of the final period, giving the United States a 1-0 lead. That lead would’ve been 2-0 had Ryan Kesler’s goal counted at the end of the second period. After a video review, it was determined that the puck crossed the goal line a split second after the clock hit zero.

"Hillsy did an amazing job," said Swiss defenseman Luca Sbisa. "Without him, we wouldn't be this far in the tournament. He made unbelievable saves. We are so proud of him."

The Swiss came right back however with a fierce attack of their own. Sandy Jeanin shook off his defender and then forced US goalie Ryan Miller to commit before sliding a shot past the goalie that appeared to have crossed the goal line before bouncing back out, as described by NHL.com.

“I thought it was in on the bench," said Wilson, "because there was no sound.” Shortly thereafter, it looked as if the United State scored again on a shot by Ryan Suter, but the goal was disallowed when Ryan Kesler committed a high-sticking penalty in front of the net.

Parise then added his empty net goal at 18:48 of the third period to ice the game and give the Americans a sigh of relief. "A great performance from Zach Parise today," said Coach Wilson. "I thought he was our best player and in games like this your best players rise to the occasion and you saw that today."

Swiss coach Ralph Krueger added, "We would have needed a miracle to win today. The Americans, in the end, were the better team."

Next up for the Americans in the semifinals is Finland, the silver medalists from the 2006 Winter Games in Torino.

HATS OFF TO FINLAND! (LITERALLY)

After a scoreless game for 53 and a half minutes, Team Finland capitalized on a golden opportunity, with a little help from lady luck. Niklas Hagman scored the game winner in Finland’s 2-0 defeat of the Czech Republic.

It was the hockey equivalent of a pitcher’s duel which saw Finnish goalie Miikka Kiprusoff make 31 saves for the victory over his Czech counterpart Tomas Vokoun, who made 29. Finland’s lucky break came when Czech defenseman Pavel Kubina lost his helmet and had to go behind the net to retrieve it. That gave Hagman some room to work with and he redirected Janne Niskala's slap shot through a tiny space under Vokoun's legs, for the game’s first goal with 6:26 left to play in regulation, as described by NHL.com.

"It was an unfortunate break, but that's hockey," Vokoun said. "Not many pretty goals are scored here any more. It's always going to be something like that."

International rules state that any player who loses his helmet must track it down or get off the ice immediately.

“It was good for us he lost his helmet, but it's a stupid rule," Hagman said. "I know they want to keep it safe, (but) if you lose a helmet, you should let the guy play. I don't know what they're thinking, but that's the rules and you have to play with them."

Valtteri Filppula scored an empty-net goal to put the game away with 1:35 left to play to seal the win and move Finland into the semi-finals against the United States.

SWEDE SURRENDER: SLOVAKIA UPSETS SWEDEN FOR SEMIFINAL BERTH

There will be no repeat of their gold medal performance of 2006 for Team Sweden this year. The Slovaks pulled out the upset, defeating Sweden 4-3 last night, for what could be considered their biggest win in their short history.

"It's the biggest achievement so far in the short history of Slovak Republic," Slovak forward Miroslav Satan said. "We definitely going to enjoy it for a while and then focus on the next game."

Sweden goaltender Henrik Lundqvist had not allowed a goal in Vancouver thus far, but he let three straight get by him in the second period. His New York Rangers teammate, Marian Gaborik, and Slovak Andrej Sekera broke open the scoring with goals just 37 seconds apart. Sweden answered that by scoring two goals of their own, also 37 seconds apart, from Patric Hornqvist and Henrik Zetterberg.

Nicklas Lidstrom, who scored the winning goal for Sweden in the gold medal game at the Torino Olympics, had his last shot stopped by Jaroslav Halak as time expired.

Halak made 26 saves for Slovakia, who advance to the semi-finals to take on a surging Canadian team. "It's tough the way we lost," said Swedish veteran Peter Forsberg, who is playing in his final Olympics. "This is not the way we wanted it to end."

Information and quotes from NHL.com and NBCOlympics.com were used in this story.

TONIGHT

WOMENS MEDAL GAMES

Finland vs. Sweden, 2 p.m. EST Bronze Medal Game
Canada vs. USA, 6:30 p.m. EST Gold Medal Game

FRIDAY NIGHT

USA vs. Finland, 3 p.m. EST, Semifinal #1
Canada vs. Slovakia, 9:30 p.m. EST, Semifinal #2

FINAL STANDINGS (as of 2/25/10)

1 TBD
2 TBD
3 TBD
4 TBD
5 Sweden
6 Russian Federation
7 Czech Republic
8 Switzerland
9 Belarus
10 Norway
11 Germany
12 Latvia

All Good in Canada...For Now

photo credit: Jeff Vinnick, Hockey Canada

The nation to our north could rest easy last night because their puck boys, as expected, rolled over Germany, 8-2, to advance to today’s quarterfinals. Just don’t relax too much or too long with Russia up next.

Jarome Iginla scored his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament, Eric Staal added three assists playing with Iginla and Sidney Crosby, and Roberto Luongo made 21 saves against the anemic German attack. The postgame conversation, though, quickly shifted to Ovechkin & Co.

“That’s a big rivalry. We all now it,” said Crosby. “It’s something everyone’s been talking about. It’s something we thought that sooner or later would happen.” Just not in the quarters.

But this is the road Canada must travel after Sunday night’s upset at the hands of the Americans. Head coach Mike Babcock responded to that by replacing Martin Brodeur with Canuck Roberto Luongo. And by reshuffling his lines in hopes of energizing some of his scuffling snipers.

It’s impossible to grade the goalie flip-flop because Sven Butenschon has lost a step for Germany. But you did see Joe Thornton score his first goal of this tournament. Staal-Crosby-Iginla dominated the puck whenever they were on the ice. And while he still has not scored in these Games, Rick Nash was sharp on the left wing of Anaheim duo Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

The only drama on this night for Canada were whispers of mild discontent among the players over Babcock chosing Crosby over Nash for a penalty shot. The Columbus winger drew the penalty by driving to the net, and could have used the opportunity to build some confidence, but Babcock went with Crosby because his shootout numbers are better.

That minor issue will be long forgotten by 7:30pm ET when Russia and Canada take the ice in Vancouver. “We don’t have the kind of pressure that [they] have right now because they’re the home team,” said Alex Ovechkin. And while that’s true, no one back in the Mother Country will accept a quarterfinal loss, so there’s plenty of pressure on Alex and his buddies, too.

The Russians must also deal with a Canadian Hockey Place crowd that chanted “We Want Russia!” in the final minutes last night. When Ovechkin runs over Crosby a la Jaromir Jagr this weekend, those fans will regret opening their mouths.

SWITZERLAND 3 – BELARUS 2 in a shootout

Despite what our Tuesday preview told you, Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller was not the best player on the ice yesterday afternoon. But he made two saves in the skills competition to avoid the upset.

CZECH REPUBLIC 3 – LATVIA 2 OT

The Czech Republic avoided a larger upset thanks to David Krejci’s tally 5:10 into overtime. More important, though, is the upper-body injury Jaromir Jagr suffered in the first period. He only played seven shifts.

SLOVAKIA 4 – NORWAY 3

Thore Vikingstad and his fellow Norwegians could not pull off the upset we predicted in this spot yesterday…but they almost did. Miroslav Satan notched the game-winner at 8:41 of the final period. This game marred, though, by a gruesome injury to Slovakia forward Lubos Bartecko. He was felled by Ole-Kristian Tollefsen’s illegal elbow. Bartecko slammed the back of his head on the ice because his helmet had been knocked off. As he lay unconscious on the ice, blood pooled underneath him. After a 10-minute delay, Bartecko was taken off the ice on a stretcher.

Wednesday Schedule (all times are Eastern)

Switzerland – USA 3:00 pm

Canada-Russia 7:30 pm

Czech Republic-Finland 10:00 pm

Slovakia-Sweden 11:55 pm

- Andrew Bogusch boguschhockey@gmail.com

Medal Round Begins in Vancouver

photo credit: Jeff Vinnick, Hockey Canada

The eight teams that were not good enough during group play to earn a bye into the quarterfinals take the Vancouver ice Tuesday for spots along the US, Sweden, Russia and Finland.

(6) Canada vs. (11) Germany 7:30pm ET (winner plays Russia)

Marco Sturm, Christian Ehrhoff and company have the unenviable task of facing the Canadians 48 hours after being upended by the Americans. Steve Yzerman and Mike Babcock are switching to Roberto Luongo in net after Martin Brodeur’s shaky outing Sunday night. The Canuck will look sharp against an offensively-challenged German squad, but feel bad for goalie Thomas Greiss. The Canadian snipers won’t be too kind to him. The host country could win this one by five goals.

(5) Czech Repubic vs. (12) Latvia 10:00pm ET (winner plays Finland)

This is as close to a bye as you can get without actually staying in bed for the day. The Czechs need to take advantage of this matchup with Finland waiting in the quarterfinals, especially on offense. Jaromir Jagr, David Krejci, Martin Havlat and Tomas Fleischmann must find their strokes if this team is to make a gold medal run.

(7) Slovakia vs. (10) Norway 12:00am ET (winner plays Sweden)

Slovakia owns one of the more impressive wins of the preliminary round (2-1 over Russia), but is our pick to be upset Tuesday – if for no other reason than Norway has a player named Vikingstad (Tore, who scored a hat trick over the weekend against Switzerland).

(8) Switzerland vs. (8) Belarus 3:00pm ET (winner plays USA)

Goaltender Jonas Hiller is the best player on either side, which gives Switzerland the advantage in this one. He nearly stole one from Canada last week, so keeping a Kostitsyn or two in check should be no problem.

MONDAY’S SCORES – Women’s Semifinals

USA 9 – Sweden 1

Canada 5 – Finland 0

final is Thursday at 6:30pm ET

America Was Watching Sunday Night

Hockey fans know where MSNBC is on their TVs. The USA-Canada clash averaged 8.22 million viewers, the 2^nd-highest rated program in the network’s history. Only 2008 Election Night coverage was better, and only by roughly 10,000 viewers. And in Buffalo, where they love Ryan Miller, more people watched this game than the regular Olympic coverage on NBC.

- Andrew Bogusch (boguschhockey@gmail.com)